Sony E 20mm f/2.8
Announced April 1, 2013
PixelMeter The PixelMeter is our 1–100 aggregate of reviewer scores from trusted publications and creators. Weighted by source tier — not a raw average, and not PetaPixel’s own review.
Reviewer Consensus
Strong
Sony E 20mm f/2.8 is a remarkably compact and lightweight pancake lens that offers impressive sharpness and value for Sony mirrorless shooters. While it excels as a portable everyday carry, some users may find the lack of advanced features like weather sealing or internal stabilization a compromise.
Weighted from 12 reviewer scores
Pros
- Extremely compact and lightweight design
- Excellent center sharpness and overall optical quality
- Fast and quiet autofocus performance
- Highly affordable price point
- Smooth manual focus ring
Cons
- Softness in the corners and edges
- Noticeable barrel distortion
- Lack of optical image stabilization
- Missing physical controls like AF/MF switch or aperture ring
- Absence of weather sealing
- Launch price $350 (USD)
- Focal length & aperture 20mm f/2.8
- Mount & coverage Sony E APS-C
- Stabilization None
- Close focus 20 cm (0.12x)
- Filter thread 49mm
- Weight & size 69g (2.4 oz) · 62.48 x 20.3 mm (2.46 x 0.80 in)
What the Reviewers Say
All 12 expert reviews, weighted into the PixelMeter score.
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The Sony 20mm f/2.8 lens is perfect for those who want to keep the system as pocket friendly as possible.
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The E 20mm F2.8 is the ideal wide-angle pancake lens for your Sony mirrorless camera.
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[...] Sony's 20mm f/2.8 is a good-looking lens that returns a solid performance but it lacks any outstanding features.
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Oh and if you want to see more about the kit zoom, the 16-50, you can read about that lens in my NEX-6 1st look HERE.
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This Sony 20mm f/2.8 is a tiny little lens for when you want to carry as little as possible. For this, it's absolutely brilliant!
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No better example I know of on the market today proves that this task is possible than the Sony E 20mm f/2.8. This lens has delivered some of the most captivating work I've created over the last year with details so incredibly realistic they almost look fake.
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I didn't spend much time on focus performance, but that's because focus acquisition seemed similar to the 16-50mm kit lens and isn't really spectacular, but it's not horrible either.
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I really like how lightweight this lens is and how well it performs on all sorts of Sony mirrorless cameras, whether it's an APS-C size sensor or a full-frame mirrorless camera.
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I don't think you can go wrong with this lens.
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I really like this lens, and it's a kind of lens because of its compact size you can just leave on the camera body.
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I really like this lens overall, you can't beat it for the price. The build quality is excellent, it's extremely sharp for its size.
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Now, I think if you really like doing street photography and you mostly shoot still images, this is a good lens to go with. It's really great if you're traveling or if you're using it as a walk-around lens.
